Andrew and Josh joined Vanessa Valgardson's ELL class for a fly tying lesson. Vanessa has done a lot to make her classroom fishy and to instill in her students a deep appreciation for wild trout and the places they live. For the last couple of years, for example, Vanessa and her students have participated in the Fish in Schools (FinS) program, raising rainbow trout in a classroom aquarium.

This year, Vanessa has a group of students, relatively new to Canada, from Syria and Nepal. The Chapter aided in the purchase of six introductory tying kits, which these kids quickly put to good use - each student tied a pretty nice wooly bugger.

We'll be at Lakie a few times over the school year, casting and tying, getting these kids ready for their first trout on a fly come spring. Thanks to Vanessa and GS Lakie for having us in and to Mike Gifford at Country Pleasures Fly Fishing in Calgary, who has helped us purchase both the tying kits and some fly rods for the Chapter.

Lesley Peterson is Trout Unlimited Canada's Alberta Biologist, based in Calgary. She is a member of the provincial Whirling Disease Committee which was established late in the summer of 2016 in response to the first detection of Whirling Disease in Canada. Whirling disease, which affects salmonid species such as trout and whitefish, was confirmed in Banff in August 2016 and has since been confirmed at several sites along the Bow River, Crowsnest River, and in some rivers within the Red Deer and North Saskatchewan River basins as well as some commercial aquaculture facilities. Lesley's presentation will include a background on whirling disease including the life cycle of the parasite that causes it, the history and distribution of the disease and how it can affect fish. She will also provide an update on the situation in Alberta and what we can all do to prevent the spread of whirling disease and other aquatic invasive species.

Please join us for this exciting seminar series! For more information, contact Dr. Andreas Luek at andreas.luek@uleth.ca or Dr. Steve Wiseman at steve.wiseman@uleth.ca.